Brain Workouts
"The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use, we feel very good. Understanding is joyous.” —Carl Sagan
I was studying brain workouts when my phone rang. A friend whom I planned to meet later for coffee said, “I can’t remember if you are picking me up or if we are meeting at the restaurant. Oh, my memory. . .” Her voice trailed off in frustration.
“We planned to meet at the restaurant,” I answered.
I returned to my research. The first quality I found associated with brain health was this: People who cherish and are open to new experiences tend to have lower dementia rates. Locking ourselves into a familiar comfort zone leads to brain mush. So, travel or watching a travel documentary is good for us. So is going to live theater or a concert.
Hmm. I thought I watched those Rick Steves travel documentaries just for fun. I thought the same of that recent trip to an Iowa state park.
Almost all of my reading indicated that a principle for physical health is also true for brain health: Use it or lose it. By challenging our brains, we build up a cognitive reserve. Even if we enter the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s, we have extra neurons and neuron pathways to offset the losses.
Learning a new skill is one productive brain exercise. Taking up knitting, pottery, painting, or woodworking can train our brain cells to fire in new ways. Learning a new computer program or a new language can do the same.
Wow! I took up quilling because I loved the beauty of the paper designs. And I learned basic Spanish because I wanted to communicate with Nicaraguans during mission trips. I didn’t realize I was doing my brain a favor.
Playing games in short stints is a good brain workout. Crossword, Sudoku, and Word Find puzzles are good options for solo games. Scrabble and card games are good multiple-person choices. On-line card games and Words with Friends make good choices as multi-person brain exercise on the computer.
Hurray! My ritual of a daily game of both Gin and Upwards is good for my mind.
Short-term and long-term memory exercises also provide benefit. How many digits of a phone number can we retain when dialing it? All ten digits? Just six digits and then four? How many items from our grocery list can we place in our shopping cart before we consult that list for items we have forgotten? Can we do a simple math problem in our head without resorting to a pen or a calculator? Can we memorize the lyrics of a song or poem we like? Use it or lose it!
I think I’ll challenge my memory the next time I go shopping for groceries. The next time I dial a phone number, I will try to retain all ten digits.
Reading—both nonfiction and fiction—is also good brain exercise. In addition, reading provides us with material for telling stories. And telling stories provides a workout for our memory, our vocabulary, and our organizational skills.
I’m glad to hear that. I enjoy reading—and love telling stories, especially to my grandchildren.
The final brain-training exercise I learned about was meditation. Meditation quiets the brain by focusing on just one item, such as breath or a visual image, and returning to that item whenever our hurry-scurry mind gets distracted by other thoughts.
As I researched, I discovered a study of Mental and Physical (MAP) training funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation. The program used 30 minutes of aerobic exercise followed by 30 minutes of meditation. During the meditation, participants concentrated on their breathing, counting their breaths. If their attention wandered, they non-judgmentally returned their focus to their breathing as often as necessary. (It sounds easy, but it’s not. Try it and you will see!) The results of the study were reduction in depression and enhanced synchronized brain activity (which is linked to faster learning).
I already get half an hour of aerobic exercise somewhat regularly. Perhaps I could add meditation afterwards and see how it goes.
My friend and I met for coffee, and her memory functioned just fine. We chatted about our lives. In doing so, we used a third practice for brain health: socializing. Not only do physical and mental activity benefit our minds. Being part of a community does the same. More about that next week.
Adapted from Creative Aging by Carol Van Klompenburg, published 2023, available from Amazon.